Bathtub seat



March 11, 1952 w. J. L. PARISH 2,588,562

BATHTUB SEAT Filed Sept. 7. 1949 *5 a??? jzizari ys Patented Mar. 11,1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BATHTUB SEAT Warren .-L..Parish,Chicago, :Ill.

Applicationfseptember 7, 1949, SerlalNo. 114,295

2"Glaims. 1

This invention relates tobathtub seats and more particularly to a seatadapted for use with bathtubs built into or against a wall. It is afeature of this invention to provide a new and improved bathtub seat ofthe character described.

Another feature of this invention is to provide a seat adapted for usein connection with bathtubs having one side thereof recessed into orplaced against a wall.

Another feature of this invention is to provide a seat having meanspermitting adjustment of the width of the seat supports in order to fitvarious width tubs.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of novel means forpreventing a bathtub seat of 'the character described from movinglaterally of the ledges of the tub when being used.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the attacheddrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is 'a top plan *view of the preferred form of this invention,associated bathtub portions being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the seat shown in big. 1 installed on abathtub indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the seatshown in Fig. 2, looking from the rightof such figure and showing the far wall of the tub in dotted outline;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing an alternate form of thisinvention;

Fig. 5 is a side View of the seat shown in Fig. 4, with a bathtubindicated in dotted outline; and

Fig. 6 is a view, similar to Fig. 3, of the seat illustrated in Figs. 4and 5.

A person who has diificulty in moving about, or difliculty in assuming asitting position in a bathtub, finds taking a bath easier if a seatpositioned above the bottom of the tub is provided. In earlier styletubs there was usually provided a curved upper edge over which a seatcould be hooked. However, in practically all newer styles of bathroomfixtures, the bathtub is recessed into one wall leaving only a narrowledge along the wall. These so-called built-in bathtubs do not have acurved edge adjacent the wall over which a seat may be hooked.Applicants present invention obviates these difficulties by providing aseat which rests upon the ledges of the *tub and 'is held securely itsproper position even when one ledge is very narrow.

Referring now to Figs. 1-3, a body supporting seat HI which may be awooden board or the like, is provided with cushions II at one end (asrubber bumpers.) for resting upon the ledge l2 of a bathtub 15 adjacenta wall [3. The ledge I2 is generally between 5% and 1 wide. Anothercushion M .is placed at the end of the seat 10 for contacting the wallIS. The cushions H and M prevent the seat from marring the finish of thewall and the bathtub.

A tubular bracing member l6 having a substantially U-shaped portion asviewed from above is fastened to the other end of the seat I'll byclamps l1. Thumb nuts i'la are provided for tightening the clamps l1against the parallel parts of the U-shaped portion. A cushion 18 (whichmay be a short piece of rubber hose or the like) is positioned about thebase of .the U-shaped portion for preventing the arm from marring theledge of the bathtub wall [9. The clamps ll permit the seat in to bemoved longitudinally of the parallel portions of the member l6 so thatthe cushion I8 may rest on the outer ledge of the bathtub and thecushions I! rest on the ledge 12 of the bathtub adjacent the wall. Inorder to assure that the seat I!) will not move laterally of the ledgesof the tub so as to fall from its proper position, bracing legs 20 and20a are turned downwardly and extend backwardly from the free ends ofthe parallel portions of the bracing member l6 and contact the innerwall 2| of the bathtub. The bracing legs 20 are directed inwardly towardinner surface 2! to form an angle with the inner wall 2| slightly lessthan ninety degrees. A soft tip 22 is positioned at the end of eachbracing leg 20 to prevent marring of the bathtub surface.

When the seat is positioned on a bathtub with the left-hand end of theseat ID, as viewed in Fig. 2, positioned on the inner ledge of thebathtub and the cushion I8 on the member I 6 resting upon the outerledge (proper adjustment to the width of the tub having been made), theends of the bracing legs 20 and 20a will contact the inside of the tubto prevent the seat from moving to the right in Fig. 2. The seat cannotmove to the left of its position shown in'Fig. 2 because the cushions l4abut the wall l3. It is thus seen that the seat is held in positionlaterally of the ledges and cannot move from its proper position. It isimportant that the bracing legs contact the inside of the tub a shortdistance (preferably at least several inches) below the ledge to assistthe slightly off-normal angle in preventing any tendency for the tips ofthe legs to slide upwardly on the slick surface of the bathtub.

In the alternate form of this invention illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6 aseat 30 similar to the seat I described above, is fastened (as by bolts3|) to a tubular bracing member 32 similar in structure to the bracingmember l6 above described. A second tubular U-shaped member 33 isattached by its parallel portions to the parallel portions of the member32 (as by bolts 34) to form a substantially rectangular frame.Longitudinal slots 35 are provided in the parallel portions of themember 33 to receive the bolts 34. Upon loosening the bolts 34 themember 33 may be positioned longitudinally of the member 32, thuspermitting the seat to be placed upon tubs of varying widths. Bracinglegs 31 and 31a are formed integrally with the bracing member 32 asabove described in connection with the bracing member I6 illustrated inFigs. 1-3. The manner of operation of the structure illustrated in Figs.4 to 6 is similar to that shown and described for the seat illustratedin Figs. 1 to 3. The seats may have an upper rubber covering 35 or thelike if desired. It is preferred that all the tubular members be made ofmetal properly treated to resist corrosion, or itself resistant tocorrosion, as stainless steel o aluminum.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes,therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A bathtub seat of the character described, comprising: a bodysupporting seat having at least a major portion thereof substantiallyhorizontal and adapted to be placed transverse a bathtub with one endthereof resting upon the inner bathtub ledge adjacent a wall; a bracingmember attached to the other end of said seat, said member having aU-shaped portion underlying said seat with the open end of the U facingthe seat for supporting the seat on the outer bathtub ledge, and bracinglegs extending downwardly and backwardly from the free ends of said U tobear against the inside of the bathtub at points located at leastseveral inches below the ledge and spaced apart substantially the samedistance as the width of said U for preventing movement of the seattransversely away from said inner ledge.

2. A bathtub seat of the character described, comprising: a bodysupporting seat having at least a major portion thereof substantiallyhorizontal and adapted to be placed transverse a bathtub with one endthereof resting on the bathtub ledge adjacent a wall; a tubular memberhaving a U-shaped portion attached to the other end of said seat, said U-shaped portion being positioned under said seat with the open end ofthe U facing the seat and the base of the U adapted to rest upon theouter bathtub ledge; a plurality of clamp means attaching said member tothe seat for permitting selective positioning of said memberlongitudinally of the seat; and a pair of bracing legs extendingdownwardly and backwardly from the free ends of said U-shaped portionfor contacting the inside of the outer bathtub wall at points located atleast several inches below the ledge thereof and spaced apartsubstantially the same distance as the width of said U-shaped portion toprevent movement of the seat outwardly from the inner bathtub ledge.

WARREN J. L. PARISH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 652,289 Powell June 26, 1900.

1,513,440 Wirt Oct. 28, 1924 2,513,619 Bennett July 4, 1950

